Case against Maggi: Supreme Court refuses Nestle's plea

The government had filed the suit in the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India raised the safety concerns.Samanwaya Rautray&Shambhavi Anand | ET Bureau | December 12, 2015, 09:24 IST

The government had filed the suit in the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India raised the safety concerns. NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court refused to stay a class action suit filed by the central government against Nestle India over the company's popular Maggi noodles. The noodles were banned by the food regulator earlier this year after it said tests showed excessive amount of lead and traces of flavour enhancer monosodium glutamate in the product, but the Bombay High Court has struck downthe order.

The government had filed the suit in the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India raised the safety concerns. The consumer court has since ordered fresh tests on Maggi samples. On Friday, Nestle's lawyer, Harish N Salve, pressed for a stay on the proceedings before NCDRC, as the high court has cleared the product after tests mandated by it found the noodles safe to consume.

However, a top court bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and PC Pant refused to accept his plea for now, and said it would take it up the matter in January. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court asked Nestle to respond by January 12 to an appeal by the food regulator against the high court order which, while setting aside the Maggi ban, also effectively rendered the regulator toothless by questioning the credentials of its testing labs spread across the country.